How to Offer a Praise Prayer – Miriam and the Women of Israel (Exodus 15.21)

Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

The followers of God have been putting their prayers to music since the beginning. The book of Psalms is a collection of hymns that were sung by the Israelites and Jews at worship (unfortunately, only the lyrics have survived).¹ Here are a few other examples from Scripture:

• Deborah and Barak sang a prayer together of thanks and praise to God after victory in battle (Judges 5)
• Jesus and his disciples sing the standards hymns that we sing after Passover (Mt 26.30; Mk 14.26)
• James tells believers they are to sing prayers of praise (James 5.13)
• Revelation depicts people singing praises to God (Rev 4.8, 5.9, 14.3, 15.3).

Singing our prayers, in addition to speaking them and writing them, adds richness to the practice of prayer.​

Background

The context of the present passage is Israel’s deliverance through the Reed Sea (the “Red Sea”). It comes after the prayer in Exodus 15.1–18, and the reason for this prayer is the same as that one. After the long controversy with the Pharaoh about the Israelites slaves and the demonstration of God’s power, the Israelites finally left Egypt. They march to the Reed Sea with a plan to continue east.

But the Pharaoh changed his mind (again!) and chased after the Israelites with his army. The Israelites complain to Moses, and God opens the waters for them to pass through, destroying the following army in the muck and mire. On the other side, the Israelites erupt in a prayer of praise for God—not so much because he saved them (though that is part of it)—but because they are in awe of his power over creation. The previous prayer of praise is sung by “Moses and the Israelites” (Exodus 15.1). The Hebrew words might mean that all the Israelites sang together, or it could mean that it was just the men singing.

When that hymn of praise ends, Miriam (the sister of Moses), takes a tambourine in her hand and leads the women of Israel in dancing and singing a hymn. We are only given a brief bit of the lyrics: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.” Miriam was a religious leader of Israel along with her brother. In this passage, she is called a “prophetess” and leads the women in worship (see also Exodus 2.1–10 and Mic 6.4). With such a role in the community, it is natural for her to take part in leading the celebration.

This entire scene sounds like a scene from our modern genre of a musical drama—after a significant event, the people break out in song! Moses and the men arise and sing their song of praise as a prayer to God, then they sit down, and the women rise to sing their version of the prayer.

Meaning

The two prayers of praise are a creative, heartfelt, and joyful responses to God’s power over creation and what He did for the Israelites. Why sing them? Because sometimes spoken words alone are not enough. Most of us have experienced the power of music to express deep-felt emotions—more so than only spoken words. Many people have a song that they associate with important events in life (whether happy or melancholy). Decades later, those songs can bring tears to our eyes or a smile to our face. Music exists because God built it into creation and gave humans the ability to create it. In such acts of composing, playing, or singing music, we are mimicking the creative acts of God. He is the Master Composer and Performer. He has given us the ability to do the same under his power and direction. So it is only natural that music would be another way that we can enrich our prayers.

The next time you sing a hymn during worship, listen carefully to the lyrics. Most likely, you will find it is a prayer. Sing it like a prayer. During the week, at a time when you would pray, try singing a hymn or a Christian song in place of the spoken prayer. Keep that in mind as you listen and/or sing along: you are praying.

Application

You can use this idea of a prayer-hymn in a few different ways. If you are musical, you might write your own prayer-hymn. You could use some of the words from a Psalm for the lyrics (as has often been done throughout the centuries). If you like writing poetry or lyrics, try your hand at writing the words to a prayer-hymn. Imagine the Israelites at the Temple singing them, or later, singing them in synagogues, or the early Christians singing them in their home meetings.

During your devotional times this week, use one of these ideas for your prayers. Try singing all your prayers on one day: use hymns that fit your circumstance. Make up a melody or use an existing one for your prayers. Singing our prayers is another wonderful way to enrich our prayers because music speaks to us in a different way than spoken and written words. Singing our prayers is a way we can join with God in the creative activity which is a part of Him.

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1. Some of the musical directions are found in the beginning of some Psalms. For example: instruments to use (Ps 5); the tune to use (Ps 8); a time to pause (Ps 52.5). ↩